Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Read.Eat.Listen: Greats

Read: I'm on another Alice Munro binge 'Dear Life: Stories' as she's so wickedly straightforwardly and great at making the ordinary extraordinary.
"'Accept everything and then tragedy disappears. Or tragedy lightens anyway, and you're just there, going along easy in the world.'

Now good-bye.

I see what he meant. It really is the right thing to do. But, in my mind, Caro keeps running at the water and throwing herself in, as if in triumph, and I'm still caught, waiting for her to explain to me, waiting for the splash." from Gravel in 'Dear Life'.

Eat: The call for my birthday? Tapas at Duende Restaurant & Bodega in Oakland. I love this place for its vibe, its jazz-leaning music calendar, it's Verve-coffee serving bodega and now, dinner. This was one of the best meals I've had lately, and I've been generally eating well. Highlights included the octupus and the verduras de invierno, a Tempranillo 'duet' and a sublime almond cake.

Listen: The great Lucinda Williams just reissued her landmark self-titled album from 1988. This live track finds her playing the entirety and talking about the songs at a show in Nashville.